Can you guess where I’ve been based on the picture? Only back a few days – longer if I count recovery time from the COVID. (Sorry for my late email responses.) Had a wonderful time! Didn’t even get the COVID until I was back in the states. Anyway, the picture it your hint. Can’t wait to tell you all about it.
Until then, let me tell you about Cesar. He’s on top of the food chain, so he thinks. Whatever happened to him in Midnight Bites, is nothing compared to what happens to him in Midnight Wildes.
Just one more wee clue to where I was.
Cesar De LaRosa studied the detritus of the fifteenth century. He never liked being on the water, and seeing the wreck of the ancient ship confirmed his dislike for sailing. Not that a cruise today had any of the discomfort faced by de Le Salle and his crew. Isabella had insisted on that long weekend cruise on the Alaskan coast in January. Comfortable, but boring. He had missed the hustle and bustle of the city, the constant inquiries and permissions needed to run the US side of Mugello Industries. Cesar enjoyed being in charge more than he thought he would, but he missed the camaraderie he and Anthony Mugello had shared over the years.
Barely a year had passed since Hunters entered Austin determined to kill them all. Cesar and Anthony had been ready with detailed plans to keep their people safe, but Harry and the Duchess changed them all and didn’t bother to tell them.
“Mary,” he said to himself. “I should call her Mary and not Duchess.”
It all worked out. The Hunters left the city, having only killed a few vampires and one werewolf, but the Hunters’s leaders had broken under the weight of their own sins. They would no longer be a threat. Cesar kept tabs on the others.
Now, Mary ruled in Harry’s place. Her whispers echoed through the streets of Austin and in most American cities every night. Wherever she was, her Internet Radio station gained in popularity among humans and non-humans. Unlike Harry, Mary required little of Cesar, except to keep Mugello Enterprises prosperous and safe.
Was she unconcerned with the details? Isabella had laughed when he asked her about Mary’s motives. “Never worry if she seems unconcerned about anything you do. But always worry when she takes an interested in what you’re doing.”
“Relax,” he whispered to himself as he looked at his watch. The Blanton Museum would close soon. He turned to move upstairs for the meeting – arranged by Mary. All she told him was to meet an old friend and assist him in his work.
It worried him that there was work to do in Austin and she hadn’t asked him to do it. With the experience of the Hunters still in his mind, he ran through the communication plans, the safety procedures, and evacuation routs and safe house operations he had established. Were they good enough? What about another betrayal? How do I plan for that?
Peace,
L.K. Latham
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